NCCE out to broaden knowledge of civic rights in schools

Musa Baldeh, a student of St. Therese’s Upper Basic School, Fulla Bantang, said training will help students know a lot about their rights and responsibilities as young citizens (Photo Credit: M.S.Joof/TNBES)

Students and teachers in Central River Region have been trained on formation of civic education clubs in schools to broaden and deepen their knowledge of civic rights and responsibilities.

The May 16-17 training for participants from Kaur, Jangjangbureh and Fulla Bantang upper basic schools is part of a nationwide activity funded by the UN Development Programme.

National Council for Civic Education, NCCE, has stated students will be taught to realize their roles as future leaders and in consolidating Gambia’s democratic system through civic clubs, and to ensure active participation in Gambia’s socio-political process.

Rights groups condemn plans for immunity of African leaders

A general view shows delegates attending the 50th African Union Anniversary Summit in Addis Ababa on May 25, 2013 (Photo Credit: Press TV).

African leaders through their justice ministers and attorney generals are creeping their feet towards considering a draft protocol that would give leaders immunity on grave crimes against humanity.

These justice ministers and attorney generals of the AU are scheduled to meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia May 15-16 to consider a draft protocol to expand the authority of the African Court on Justice and Human Rights to include criminal jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Also, a proposal providing immunity for heads of state and senior government officials from prosecution for such crimes is being considered as part of the amended protocol.

But African human rights organisations from 19 countries and a host of international human rights organisations working in Africa have said the plan to give immunity to sitting government leaders before the Court would be a major setback for justice for grave crimes.

They said the plan would also harm the regional court in a letter to African governments on Monday. 

Gambia arrest, detain football federation leaders

GFF President Mustapha Kebbeh (Photo Credit: Sang Mendy)

The police in Banjul have arrested and detained members of The Gambia Football Federation, GFF, on Friday.
 
“They are being held at the major crime unit division of the police department, in the capital,” GFF sources said. “The President Mustapha Kebbeh, Vice President Buba ‘Star’ Janneh, Secretary General Abass Bah are among executive committee members who were arrested over the weekend.”

It is not yet clear why the crackdown on the football officials. It came about 72 hours after Youth and Sports Minister Alieu K. Jammeh announced the sacking of the GFF president and four of his top executive and suspends all national football leagues.

Jammeh said he was acting on the findings of a task force set up by the national sports council, NSC, to look into the country’s expulsion from the CAF youth championship. 

Outrage intensify over schoolgirls abduction in Nigeria

Last week, the United States of America announced it will help try to rescue the girls. Image depicts an aircraft of the United States Air Force (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There has been global outrage over the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the militant group Boko Haram on April 14.

Public protests are holding in Nigeria and across the world while the hashtag (#BringBackOurGirls) gains widespread notice on social media. The girls were taken from a school in the northern state of Borno and there whereabouts remains unknown amid growing anger in Nigeria.

In The Gambia, the Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices, Gamcotrap, and the Child Protection Alliance, CPA, has expressed a message of solidarity to Nigerian government and families of the girls.

Gambian man charge with money laundering

The police in Banjul Wednesday charged a Gambian man with money laundering.

Omar Jallow, who denied the charge, is accused of receiving 38, 000 pounds (D2, 280, 000) from one Dodou Njie, a UK-based Gambian, through a Guaranty Trust Bank Account No: 201-1-114897-1590 with intent to conceal or render assistance.

The police said Mr Jallow knows or have reason to believe that the money has being laundered by the sender Dodou Njie or must have being unlawfully obtained.

He was not represented by a lawyer when he appeared at the Kanifing Magistrate Court on April 30, 2014.

Gambia: Central bank takes ‘full control’ of Nigerian-owned commercial banks

The CBG raised from D150 to D200 million, the minimum capital requirement for commercial banks operating in The Gambia. It is not clear if the two banks have fallen short of this regulation. Photo taken from Gambia.com

The Central Bank of The Gambia, CBG, Monday “take full control” of two Nigerian-owned commercial banks, Access (Gambia) Ltd and Keystone (Gambia) Ltd.

 

CBG announced it has exclusive powers to manage and control the two banks to ensure that they “operate in a safe and sound manner” but it did not make clear the reason behind the move.

The May 5 decision was taken under the Banking Act 2009, according to the CBG which states it wants “to safeguard the financial system in particular and the economy in general.”

It stated: “The two banks would continue business as usual, and depositors are assured that the banks have ample liquidity to meet current and future obligations.”

Calls renewed for Gambia to respect ECOWAS Court decisions

The journalists need a media environment free from intimidation, arbitrary arrests, detention, disappearance, torture, killings and all forms of human rights violations designed to gag the media in The Gambia, the GPU stated. (Photo Credit: Haddija Jawara/Facebook)

The Gambia Press Union, GPU, Saturday renew calls for The Gambia Government to respect two verdicts of the ECOWAS Court of Justice.

 

The call was contained in a solidarity statement that strongly condemned the Ethiopian government’s crackdown and jailing of nine journalists and bloggers in April 2014, while calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

Its 1^st Vice President, Baboucarr Ceesay said: “The solidarity statement for jailed Ethiopian journalists and bloggers cannot be concluded without renewing Gambian journalists call on the government of The Gambia to respect the ECOWAS court’s verdict…

GPU condemns jailing of Ethiopian journalists and bloggers

Ethiopia is one of the worst countries for journalists in Africa under the leadership of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn - Ethiopia 2012 - World Economic Forum on Africa 2011 (Photo credit: World Economic Forum)

The Gambia Press Union, GPU, Saturday strongly condemns the Ethiopian government’s crackdown and jailing of nine journalists and bloggers and called for their immediate and unconditional release.

 

The message was part of coordinated efforts through the pan-African journalists’ body, the Federation of African Journalists, FAJ, in solidarity with colleagues in Ethiopia, one of the worst countries for journalists in Africa.

“Our hearts also beat in unison with the hearts of journalists experiencing unthinkable predicaments in Egypt, Somalia and Ukraine.

“…and journalists facing hard times and those who died in their duties in other parts of the world for doing their job and telling truth to power,” says Baboucarr Ceesay, GPU’s 1^st vice president.

Blood Shed: Di Bosslady’s new single

Photo taken from reverbnation.com

Tenza Di Bosslady, a UK-based Jamaican reggae dancehall singer, has released a new single ‘Blood Shed’ which she said is dedicated to her cousin gunned down in Jamaica a few months ago. It is produced by Tenza Music Digital (TMD) Records.

“The single has been well received by critics and is receiving outstanding feedback from disc jockeys in Asia where the song was officially released two weeks ago,” Tenza told The Voice Vibes. “The promotional music video for 'Blood Shed' has also been released in conjunction with the track and will be aired on television stations across Africa, Europe, Asia and North America.

SENEGAL: GDP Weaker Than Forecast

President Sall is presiding over low agricultural production in Senegal (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Early estimates by the authorities [in Senegal] suggest that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was weaker than forecast in 2013, about 3.5 per cent compared to the expected 4 per cent. 

This is indicative of low levels of production in the agricultural sector, difficulties in the industrial sector and in the extractive industries, says an International Monetary Fund, IMF, mission which visited Senegal from April 16-30, 2014 to conduct the seventh review under the three-year Policy Support Instrument (PSI) approved in December 2010. 

In contrast, activity was particularly buoyant in the telecommunications and construction sectors. Inflation stood at 0.7 percent on average in 2013 amid softer agricultural commodity prices in the international market. 

NSC calls for sacking of three GFF officials, ask others to resign

A government task force that looked into The Gambia’s age cheating and expulsion from the CAF U20 championship has called for the resignation of entire football Federation executive committee  (Photo Credit: Sang Mendy)

The National Sports Council, NSC, has called for the sacking of the Gambia Football Federation, GFF’s, technical director Ebrima Manneh, U20 team manger Saihou Bah and administrative secretary Baboucarr Jobe.

An NSC task force that looked into The Gambia’s age-cheating and expulsion from the CAF U20 championship recommended their sacking.

The task force also recommended that the [entire] GFF executive [committee should] honourably resign for “failing and embarrassing the nation and losing public trust.”